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Hooking up rotary a/b 558?

Started by indydave, December 04, 2012, 05:16:29 PM

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indydave

Hello,

I purchased an old rotary wall phone as a Christmas gift for my family (I want to show my kids how the "old" phones worked!)   The back has a label that reads "AB 558, which I believe is a Western Electric two line.  I have a couple questions that I am hoping someone can answer;

1. How do I hook it up?  I have already taken a phone extension cord, stripped the wires, and connected the green and red wires from that to the green and red wires inside of phone.  I got a dial tone but after I tried to dial or hang up, the phone went dead and I ultimately got the recording "If you would like to make a call...(something like that)."   
2. I have VOIP (Brighthouse Networks).  I am realizing now this could be a problem.  Do the pulse to tone converters work? 

I posted a few photos as well.

Any answers, comments, or ideas will be helpful and greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

IndyDave

LarryInMichigan

Welcome to the forum.  Your phone is probably a Stromberg Carlson 558, which is a two-line phone.  There is a wiring diagram for the Western Elecrtic 558 here: link.  The SC is probably the same as the WE.

Larry

oldphon

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on December 04, 2012, 07:38:52 PM
Welcome to the forum.  Your phone is probably a Stromberg Carlson 558, which is a two-line phone.  There is a wiring diagram for the Western Elecrtic 558 here: link.  The SC is probably the same as the WE.

Larry
[/quote

I think it is a Western Electric 558 that was later refurbished by Stromberg-Carlson.  S-C used to run an operation that would refurbish sets for any independent Telco.  This later became Rotelcom under Rochester Telephone.

Jeremy

indydave

Larry and Jeremy,

Thank you for the reply.  I used the diagram and, it is working, even over my cable-based phone system!  The only thing I can't get it to do now is ring.   I will try to figure this out later. 

Thanks again!

Dave

poplar1

The red and black ringer wires poking out of the back of the phone in your photo need to connect to terminals 1 and 2.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.